[Archived] Bolton Vs Rovers

[Zulu]

Just one last thought from me,having just watched MOTD. Now I know that Megson is not really the finished article when it comes to a Premiership manager (by a long chalk!) but that Paul Ince is some sort of a prick, is he not?

"You know what to expect when you come here." "They play direct football." Do me a favour. Both sides spanked the arse off the ball all afternoon! Anyway, if you know what to expect - how come you didn't win, Governor?

I bet he reads the Mirror. He might even think you're a bunch of cloggers! (You are not, by the way.)

[Hasta]

(You are not, by the way.)

That's half the problem at the moment.

Only seen the Footy First highlights but Samba seemed to head everything away. Very rarely Nelson. Just Samba.

[Ben-2000]

Some are saying it was a great game others the worst they have ever seen... I think it lays in the middle... pretty dull but at least we got a point and clean sheet... is that 10 years unbeaten at the Reebok now?

As for the usual trouble after the game... we were just leaving the car park (on foot) and saw the police horses charging outside the away end, could really see what was happening though

[chileandude]

So Carlos was average? Not surprised. If you put him on the sides that's pretty much how he will perform most of the time. His position is in the middle as an attacking midfielder, a man in the hole behind the strikers...or even a forward. Put him on the sides and his influence on the pitch will be limited considerably as he will basically be reduced to making crosses and trying to keep up with faster players, producing dangerous tackles.

Put him in the middle and leave the defensive work to somebody else. He will thread passes through defenders and occasionally make use of that wonderful foot he has to score some long distance goals.

I guess Ince is slowly trying to get him involved...but when he is finally bulked up and ready to play the whole 90 then I'd like to see him in the position he belongs.

On other news, chances of Villanueva returning to the Chilean NT are not good, since Chile just got an historic victory over Argentina 1-0 and could have been more goals for Chile. The goalscorer? Debutant Orellana, former teammate of Villanueva who still plays at Audax and who will probably play on the winger/striker position Bielsa used to give to Villanueva. I guess this could be good news for Blackburn since he will not be taken for international matches...

[Mozzer]

i thought bolton was better then us today-saying that tho i thought we handled their long balls quite well today..

the more games we play the more confident i get in paul robinson-continues like this i think he will be england number 1 pretty soon..

villaneuva-i like him, played left wing-but did a good job-got crosses in just needs to get used to the pace abit more-i think sub roles are best for him at the moment until he gets used to pace..

fowler-utter rubbish-i think sub roles are all that he can be good for-and thats when we are leading by 2-3 goals..

i thought mcarthy and derbyshire changed the game for us-both looked up for it..

on to next week where it will be a very tough game with boro looking to bounce back..

[Rover9]

Some are saying it was a great game others the worst they have ever seen... I think it lays in the middle... pretty dull but at least we got a point and clean sheet... is that 10 years unbeaten at the Reebok now?

As for the usual trouble after the game... we were just leaving the car park (on foot) and saw the police horses charging outside the away end, could really see what was happening though

If the horses hadn't of come in just when they did it could have got a bit mssy under there. I had just come out of the ground with the sister and a group of Blackburn lads were singing the wankey wanderer's and a group of Bolton gave some back then the name calling began and ended up with a stand off and basically it seemed the split second they went for each other the horses did their sideways run through the middle, it was a close one though.

Don't know if there was bother elsewhere but whilst on the coaches I did notice a few bobbies on the run somewhere?

Anyway all I can say for the match is Fowler if he is the best Ince seems to think we have to partner Robert's in Roque's abscence then we really do look to be in the brown stuff. Oh and the stupid backwards idea of having to bet over your mobile fone which bright spark thought that one up?!

Oh and did anyone else hear the "let him die" chant at Samba when he was down injured, the numpty's, talk about taking things too far!

[imy9]

Sorry imy the only miss (most significant I'll agree) was Roque. The midfield is the same one that's been at the heart of our better performances this season. A point away from home is good I'll agree but please look beyond that, it was a real shocker today against a very very ordinary, in fact poor, Bolton outfit.

More of the same and people won't need to use the credit crunch as an excuse not to go that's for sure.

We have a left back and a 38 year old playing in midfield- that is obviously not our first choice but with their performances they are the preferred choice, however they will have days like today, playing against a team that likes to lump the ball forward when they will sit back and we need Dunn driving forward!

There have been two completely different opinions on the boards so far about the performance, PI has said that they tried to play the right way, insinuating that we were playing passing football, regardless I still think it is a good point and now expect all 3 in the next game when hopefully RSC will be back (I hope with Benni up front)

[Mike Graham]

dreadful game

2 very poor sides who would struggle in the Championship

an earthworm would have more of a tactical brain than Ince

if they paid me £15 to watch that garbage I would still feel shortchanged

[Ozz]

Zulu-For what it's worth I though the home support was pretty good by modern standards, kept going on even through some of the most turgid passages of play. A pretty decent atmosphere, mainly from the East Stand. Just glad the band are now in the Normid End (North Stand).

[roversmum]

Very disappointed. We could have won this match. Please, somebody, do something about Fowler. Soon. Fed up at the moment. Not a fan of Andrews, either. We have some good players. Would like to see them, in the right positions please Mr Ince.

If rumours are correct, and there is a sell on clause (£18million for goodness' sake? - we did better than that for Duffer and that was years ago...) and Roque leaves, I am going to be very cross and very unhappy.

Off for a sulk.

[rover6]

Bring Gally back from Plymouth. He knows where the back of the net is, and he can't be any worse than Roberts' scuffing.

AS far as I am aware, Gally cannot be recalled until January.

The fact that Robbie Fowler is playing for Rovers is proof that managers do not simply select players on merit. On merit, Fowler would not even have a contract with us.

[John]

Surprised some people were pleased with what they watched, and thought it was a 'good game'.

The match was woefully short of quality all-round. We possibly played some decent football at points, but never in threatening positions.

Good tests for us will be against teams like Pompey, Villa and Man City. Should get an indication of how good we are then.....

[trs]

The fact that Robbie Fowler is playing for Rovers is proof that managers do not simply select players on merit. On merit, Fowler would not even have a contract with us.

Totally agree, Fowler should never have started before Matty Darbyshire yesterday.

Fowler, as good as he was, has done nothing for bloody YEARS!

[Majiball]

AS far as I am aware, Gally cannot be recalled until January.

The fact that Robbie Fowler is playing for Rovers is proof that managers do not simply select players on merit. On merit, Fowler would not even have a contract with us.

I understand why Fowler started yesterday, he looks leaner than he did at the beginning of pre-season so must be putting the effort in at training. Derb's is too lightweight for what was always going to be a physical battle first and football second. However Fowler and Roberts looked like strangers on the pitch. Retrospectively Benni should have played but is he doing enough in training to be selected? He did well in the last 10 or so and I thought he had nicked it with that near post flick. I think Merson got it spot on when he said Roberts was on a different wavelength than Fowler perhaps a result of that miss?

We did well in the first half and Roberts should have scored without doubt and he never got over that miss. 0-0 was a fair result in the end

Fowler coming of the bench is fine for me but not a starter, after seeing it today. But if he has been performing in training then he probably deserved his chance, it was just not taken.

On a serious plus note well done Robbo great performance you even varied your distribution and that save was Friedel class.

[thenodrog]

Just speed read the last few pages and it seems odd that Graham and PhilipL's version of the quality of the match is directly opposite from the majority. It must look better on telly I guess.

Odd that it was so crap cos it might just shatter the myth that has developed on here that Paul Ince's team plays vastly more entertaining football than Hughes's. Apart from Everton away it's been uninspiring at best.

[Mr Creosote]

Just speed read the last few pages and it seems odd that Graham and PhilipL's version of the quality of the match is directly opposite from the majority. It must look better on telly I guess.

Odd that it was so crap cos it might just shatter the myth that has developed on here that Paul Ince's team plays vastly more entertaining football than Hughes's. Apart from Everton away it's been uninspiring at best.

Everton at home?

[CrazyIvan]

Shatters no myth Gordon. The quality of Rovers play was actually decent rather than some of the utter tripe that's been pronounced on here. The game was nowhere near as bad as some are saying it was. There were some very good passages of play but the end result is that our two strikers were about as close to each other as the reports on here are. They were not good.

I thought Villanueava did pretty well to be fair to the lad. He didn't give the ball away very often at all and his first touch is good. He'll get better once he knows how to play in this league against teams like Bolton.

I also thought that Andrews came on and made midfield look a lot more solid and he mades some telling tackles to stop the random Bolton attack. Solid in that while Fowler was playing in the hole and dropping into midfield when they had the ball, he didn't do very much there though whereas Andrews passed well and tackled very well.

It's obvious to me that there are a number of unhappy 'fans' who just want to see the back of Ince rather than give any sort of good report about the team. While yesterday wasn't a brilliant flowing game of football, when have you ever seen that at Bolton by anyone except Arsenal? Yeah I expect people to pick this apart and comment on how blind I must be but I watched the game fron the North Stand with no anti-Ince or negative glasses on. Just ones, I hope, with a little perspective.

It wasn't the best game I've watched Rovers play. We've played better under Hughes and much better under Ince but not in this game. With Roque up front the result would have been different. I have no doubt in that at all. Roberts is not Roque.

Final word on Fowler, it's the first time I've seen him for an extended period of time and I have no idea what Ince sees in him. I can only imagine that he is better than he was yesterday in training, a hell of a lot better. I'll see what he is like the next time I see him and judge if yesterday was a one off bad performance or if he is still as bad. My opinion at the moment is that he might well be Ince's Grabbi. Actually that's doing a disservice to Ciccio, he was better than Fowler. Fowler isn't costing us much to be fair but while he was on the pitch yesterday, build up play that was good in general led to absolutely nothing because Fowler was utter crap.

[den]

Read some of the posts last night, where people were saying it was a good game to watch and decided to refrain from posting because I saw it completely differently.

Bolton: Played more of an Allardyce game, than when Sam was there. I don't know whether Zulu will agree or not, but I think they are a far worse team now than they were then. Same style of football, but under BFS, they did have some quality players - Diouff, Anelka and Okacha for starters. They have no-one of quality now. If they went down I can't imagine any of their squad bringing in any real money.

Rovers: As 1864 said, too many players out of position. Some say playing Ooijer at left back was a masterstroke, but to my mind playing right footed centre halves at left back is ridiculous. That's actually reducing the attacking effectiveness of your own team. A decent back four can cope with Davies anyway. Warnock at centre mid, [even though he's done well there recently], Brett on the right wing [not his best position], later we had Matty on the left wing. I think we have to get back to playing players, where they are at their best. Benni did more in 15 mins than Fowler did all game. Roberts proved with that missed header why he's simply not good enough for the Prem. How strikers can miss chances like that one is beyond me.

The game in general: There were chances at both ends - agreed, and that's why some people see it as being a good game. The overall quality of football though was pretty dire. Up and under stuff from Bolton and rovers never really able to put much together all afternoon. The general opinion around me was that it was s+++e.

Good points though were great performances from Nelsen and Samba. Robinson did nothing wrong and his save from the free kick was excellent, but he didn't really have much to do.

So, a good point away from home, but a game that wouldn't have been out of keeping around the middle of the Championship.

A word on Carlos. I can't see that he's ever going to be worth the £5m agreed fee. I can see rovers either trying to reduce that fee severely, or simply sending him home.

[LDRover]

Shatters no myth Gordon. The quality of Rovers play was actually decent rather than some of the utter tripe that's been pronounced on here. The game was nowhere near as bad as some are saying it was. There were some very good passages of play but the end result is that our two strikers were about as close to each other as the reports on here are. They were not good.

I thought Villanueava did pretty well to be fair to the lad. He didn't give the ball away very often at all and his first touch is pretty good. He'll get better once he knows how to play in this league against teams like Bolton.

I also thought that Andrews came on and made midfield look a lot more solid and he mades some telling tackles to stop the random Bolton attack. Solid in that Fowler was playing in the hole and dropping into midfield when they had the ball. He didn't do very much there though.

It's obvious to me that there are a number of unhappy 'fans' who just want to see the back of Ince rather than give any sort of good report about the team. While yesterday wasn't a brilliant flowing game of football, when have you ever seen that at Bolton by anyone except Arsenal? Yeah I expect people to pick this apart and comment on how blind I must be but I watched the game fron the North Stand with no anti-Ince or negative glasses on. Just ones, I hope, with a little perspective.

Well I'm sorry Ivan but if you think that was 'decent' then I give up. I'm not basing my comments on anything other than what I watched, I don't want Ince to fail and funnily enough I really want us to win games against our local rivals and no matter how I try to reason it, it was poor. However, you seem to base your comments on a Pro-Ince stance masquerading under the word 'perspective', I think you need to look a bit closer and ask if that display is even a small step forward towards the entertaining football we've been promised.

I was sat in the top tier and didn't hear one fan comment on how 'decent' a game it was, very much the opposite in fact. Now if you think differently fine, but I suggest you get those rose tinted lenses cleaned.

[Eddie]

A word on Carlos. I can't see that he's ever going to be worth the £5m agreed fee. I can see rovers either trying to reduce that fee severely, or simply sending him home.

Well we've already paid close to a million of it.

[thenodrog]

A word on Carlos. I can't see that he's ever going to be worth the £5m agreed fee. I can see rovers either trying to reduce that fee severely, or simply sending him home.

£5m's step but from what I've seen he's a very talented player. His only position though is in the hole behind a striker in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Too slow for wing, too small for CF and not equipped to be a box to box midfielder. No doubt we'll let him go and see him regularly star for someone else.

[Mozzer]

carlos doesnt need to be sent back-he has something about him-and i think it would be unfair to give up on a talent like this-yes he can give the ball away-but dont forget he is still adjusting to life in this country-he doesnt even know the language-give him a break..

as for oiijer at left back-he handled kevin davies very well-

as for emerton right wing-hes been there nearly all season and is our best player there..

i thought nelsen and samba were solid-but bolton still created many chances..

[Amo]

Where did Carlos play yesterday?

It does look like his best position is behind the front-man. He'll get eaten alive in the middle, and he'll be too isolated out wide.

[den]

£5m's step but from what I've seen he's a very talented player. His only position though is in the hole behind a striker in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Too slow for wing, too small for CF and not equipped to be a box to box midfielder. No doubt we'll let him go and see him regularly star for someone else.

Yes agreed. That's why £5m for a player who will be so limited in where he can play is too much money. Could it be spent better, that's the question?

[Exiled in Toronto]

Let me have a go at explaining why I enjoyed the game.

Two teams trying to win the game; ebbed and flowed between them and us being on top; brilliant defending (I was a defender, so I enjoy watching good, backs to the wall stuff); lots of good, committed tackles; played in the right spirit; no diving or ref baiting.

Maybe that describes a good Championship game, but then I've enjoyed watching Rovers in 3 divisions, not just this one and only when we finish 7th.

Obviously there wasn't much out of your seat stuff, and it did finish 0-0, but if you can't enjoy games that aren't 4-3's with limitless flowing football, then I'm not sure why one would bother.

Oh, and I enjoyed Joe Royal's comments (who also enjoyed the game) but missed out on what sounded like a pretty good atmosphere.